Asbury Park Complete Streets Coalition
Transportation Equity in Our City
New Jersey Transit Allocates Money for Future While Cleaning Up Present Mess
“But even as canceled trains have made commuting hell in North Jersey this summer, and as South Jersey prepares to go for months without regional rail service so personnel and equipment can be used elsewhere for other purposes, the agency has managed to set aside some seed money for future rail expansion.”
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A just-released study looks at how new in-car technology is taking our eyes off the road. Consumer Reports focuses on vehicle “infotainment systems,” including touch screens and controllers on the dashboard.
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https://www.cbsnews.com/news/distracted-driving-infotainment-systems-cars/
As it becomes less desirable and inconvenient to own a car in US cities, Asbury Park will be on the cutting edge. Asbury Park will have electric car share, plus several other transportation options.
In Germany—the birthplace of the modern automobile—carmakers are anticipating the day when people stop owning cars.
By Stefan Nicola and Elisabeth Behrmann August 17, 2018
Encouraging study shows that lowering speed limit helps reduce speeding. Asbury Park will be reducing speed the limit city-wide.
Study: Lowering the Speed Limit … Works To Reduce Speeding
“Here’s some encouraging news for cities trying to reduce speeding: New research from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety shows that lowering posted speed limits appears to be effective at reducing driver speeds.
The IIHS study compared speeds before and after Boston lowered its speed limit from 30 mph to 25 mph in January, 2017 — and the results were clear: “Vehicles exceeding 25 mph, 30 mph, and 35 mph all declined at sites in Boston, with the largest reduction in proportions of vehicles exceeding 35 mph,” wrote the study authors Wen Hu and Jessica Cicchino.”
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https://usa.streetsblog.org/2018/08/29/study-lowering-the-speed-limit-works-to-reduce-speeding/
*Editor’s note: jaywalking is fake. In addition, in NJ it is not illegal to cross mid-block as long as the pedestrian is not obstructing oncoming traffic. So mid-block pedestrian crosswalks should be unnecessary, but drivers and pedestrians do not know the law.
Max Marin Aug 29, 2018
“In a city where the mentality is often “cars over everything,” the freshly painted crosswalk stripes on South Street halfway between Ninth and 10th are an unusual but welcome sight.
The markings form a midblock crosswalk — a clunky phrase, but simple enough concept in urban design. They facilitate road-crossing in areas where corner crosswalks just don’t cut it. In this particular case, the thinking went, people have been jaywalking * across this stretch near Delhi Street to get to Whole Foods for the nearly two decades of the grocery store’s existence, so why not alert oncoming drivers and guarantee safer passage for pedestrians?”
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Bike parking facilities are in demand in Utrecht-there are more bikes than people and more than a quarter of all trips are made by bicycle. The key takeaway here is that the more bicyclists are the safer everyone will be. But it wasn’t always a bicycle culture in The Netherlands. There’s hope for the US.
By Christopher F. Schuetz Sept. 6, 2017
If You Build It, the Dutch Will Pedal
More important for the nation’s bottom line, the country’s preference for the bicycle could save its economy $23 billion each year, according to a recent study done at Utrecht University and published in the American Journal of Public Health. The study suggested that the Netherlands’ vigorous cycling habits prevented 6,500 premature deaths each year.”
Wear a helmet if you want to. But…
All over the world, countries with the highest use of safety gear are the most dangerous for cyclists. Wherever helmet use has been made compulsory, there has been no corresponding drop in head injury unless there is also a drop in cycling rates.
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https://www.britishcycling.org.uk/article/20171126-Chris-Boardman-0
Chris Boardman was appointed Greater Manchester’s first ever commissioner for walking and cycling in 2017. Known s “The Professor, Boardman is a British former racing cyclist who won an individual pursuit gold medal at the 1992 Summer Olympics, broke the world hour record three times, and won three stages and wore the yellow jersey on three separate occasions at the Tour de France. In 1992, he was awarded an MBE for services to cycling.
Chris Boardman: “Helmets not even in top 10 of things that keep cycling safe”
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https://road.cc/content/news/111258-chris-boardman-helmets-not-even-top-10-things-keep-cycling-safe
Many calls to a fire station are not fire related emergencies, so a huge rig with thousands of gallons of water isn’t needed to respond. Safety to pedestrians, bicyclists and other motorists is a benefit in situations where a smaller truck can do the job.
“The good news is that, even without smaller fire vehicles, city planners and fire officials can work together in this conscious effort to improve safety, not only for people walking, but for all road users. Let San Franciso and Portland stand as examples of what can happen when groups work together (hint: everyone wins).”
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Asbury Park is on it’s way to becoming a more walkable and livable city with new construction and improvements in infrastructure underway. Go for a walk in Asbury Park and look around. Find things you never knew existed. Get a feel for an unfamiliar neighborhood. Observe what you like, and what you aren’t crazy about, and let us know…APCSC wants to help make our city safer and more livable for everyone.
Berlin. (But doesn’t it look like Asbury Park’s Cookman Ave?)
“Walking is healthy. Walking is fun. People who walk engage with their cities in a different way, they are connected to it. It’s why walkable cities are such a joy. I have walked a mile in suburban Toronto and it felt like an eternity, but ten times as far downtown without being bored for a minute. This is the true test of a place- what is it like to walk there?”
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